(10-29-2014 10:45 PM)JAM Wrote: [ -> ]if you watch the replay- there was time. It would have been bang bang - but with the way he was pitching I think it was worth the risk.
Yeah this. The ball is around the cutoff guy as he's hitting third. If the third base coach is giving him the go so he doesn't lose a step, that's a close play. Not surprised that with 2 outs, down a run, bottom of the ninth of Game 7 of the World Series that the 3rd base coach puts on the more conservative stop sign though.
But he did just watch 5 innings of shutdown pitching.
(10-29-2014 10:57 PM)ADD Wrote: [ -> ]Filthy awesomeness. I hope the Cubs were watching how to build a contender yearly. Just a great WS.
Draft Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner, and Buster Posey in back to back to back years, along with hitting on an international signing (Sandoval)? Huddy and Pence were good gets for the money.
I'm mostly amazed by their pen. Basically EVERYBODY out there is 30+ (everyone but Petit, Kontos, and Huff with double-digit innings, and they're each 29). And no real household names, other than maybe Romo (who wasn't even good this year) and Affeldt.
(10-29-2014 11:02 PM)JAM Wrote: [ -> ]But he did just watch 5 innings of shutdown pitching.
It's the nature of coaching and managing. The environment promotes not rocking the boat or doing odd things, as you're way less likely to get called out for the status quo. And going for an inside the park home run in the bottom of the 9th to tie Game 7 of your franchise's first World Series in 30 years would be... A bold call (even if it would be a good one).
And now I started clicking around in their bullpen. 40-man roster pen material George Kontos, actually a solid reliever, now has 2 rings. And he was originally on the Yankees, then Rule 5 drafted away, then RETURNED to the Yankees, and then traded for shitty backup catcher Chris Stewart.
(I'm down the baseball-reference rabbit hole)
Guys, b-ref somehow added leaderboards for one of my favorite little toy metrics, JAWS, and I didn't notice.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/jaws_P.shtml
It's a completely arbitrary metric (average of career and 7 year peak), but purely by feel I feel like it does a very good job of comparing overall career strength between guys with different shaped careers (other than the occasional oddball, like Eckersley being far and away the RP leader because of innings accrued as a starter).
Paul Molitor is the Twinkies new manager
Gold Glove winners (and league-positional rank in FanGraphs Defense metric or Defensive Runs Saved for P, for a jumping off point):
AL P: Dallas Keuchel (1st, big margin)
AL C: Salvador Perez (1st)
AL 1B: Eric Hosmer (6th of 8 qualifying players)
AL 2B: Dustin Pedroia (1st)
AL SS: JJ Hardy (1st, good margin)
AL 3B: Kyle Seager (2nd)
AL RF: Nick Markakis (3rd)
AL CF: Adam Jones (3rd)
AL LF: Alex Gordon (1st, huge margin)
NL P: Zack Grienke (4th, close)
NL C: Yadier Molina (5th, close)
NL 1B: Adrian Gonzalez (3rd)
NL 2B: DJ LeMahieu (1st)
NL SS: Andrelton Simmons (1st, good margin)
NL 3B: Nolan Arenado (2nd)
NL RF: Jason Heyward (1st, absurdly enormous margin)
NL CF: Juan Lagares (2nd)
NL LF: Christian Yelich (1st)
So that's a pretty solid set of picks, by a really surface-level look at numbers. Eric Hosmer is the only standout bad choice. There were no stellar AL 1B this year. Plus he does a little better in DRS vs. "Defense".
Dallas Keuchel?!?
*looks him up*
Oh, the Astros. He's got pretty awful career numbers. I'm surprised he's on the radar of the baseball writers.
Doyers are going moneyball?